OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING IS A REALLY DUMB IDEA

Offshore oil drilling is just plain stupid. It's exactly the wrong direction. If you want people to invest in something that will reduce energy costs, encourage solar and wind and other non-toxic energy sources.

If the U.S. had done a crash program back in the early 1970s when it was first obvious to much of the general population that environmentalism was critical, there wouldn't be $4 a gallon gasoline. There would be free electricity for homes, businesses, transportation, and all entities. All vehicles would have been converted to electric or other clean energy.

We don't need to be drilling for what we shouldn't be burning. We especially don't need to be drilling in the ocean. The more drilling in the ocean, the more leaks into the ocean. The oceans don't need to be further polluted by humanity. They need to be cleaned up.

As a Christian, I say very clearly and firmly that the oil industry is not good stewardship. It is bad stewardship. If you are a Christian, you'll stand for good stewardship.

The oil industry is big business. They have helped create corporate socialism to protect them.

It's time for the people to wake up. Greed has been ruining the planet since greed first showed its ugly head. Greed will only continue making things worse. The oil industry is greedy. It doesn't care about what's right. It cares about making a short-term profit while the current stockholders are alive. Once they're dead, what will they care about the pollution they will have left behind.

Burning oil is not good. Our monopolistic oil industry that moved the auto industry to kill the electric car, which they did, are constantly lobbying their bought and paid for legislators and public officials and publicly elected executives to do everything possible not to promote solar, wind, geothermal, tidal, and other energy sources. They give huge political contributions. They act as a revolving door to government employees. They create think tanks to conjure up lies about the energy situation and the economic system. They pay Internet trolls to visit green-leaning sites to leave comments that are propaganda pieces designed to manage perceptions, just as Donald Rumsfeld attempted to do and did do as the infamous Defense Secretary.

ExxonMobil has made huge profits off the current situation. They worked hand in glove with Dick Cheney in melding the militant-Zionist strategy and the Bush administration's energy policy. They did this behind closed doors. There was no sunshine in it. It is bad government. It is corrupt government.

ExxonMobil and the other oil companies lie about global warming, just as the tobacco industry lied about the fact that tobacco causes cancer and heart disease, etc.

Now there is a huge propaganda move to allow more offshore drilling. They send their people out to speak about free enterprise and free markets and deregulation and on and on, but it's all for the benefit of the biggest shareholders and the top-paid executives and board members. It isn't about real competition of best ideas against best ideas. The best ideas are censored by the direct, conscious efforts of the oil companies.

To Hell with more offshore oil drilling.

Look at the oil industry in Burma. If it were not for oil, the dictators wouldn't be nearly so rich and militarily powerful. Look at what oil did to Ecuador. It ruined huge swaths of the rain forest, poisoning the water, ground, and air, making innocent people sick in many cases to death.

Now they want the Bush administration to put huge pressure on Ecuador because the oil people say that the U.S. can't let little nations control what big business can do in their own countries. Well, the oil people have it backwards. Big business isn't to be telling nations what to do the way ChevronTexaco pushed Ecuador around poisoning them and taking all the profit out of the country except for the bribes to the utterly corrupt, greedy dictators ChevronTexaco and the U.S. government maintained for sheer evil reasons.

Get out of the business of oil burning. From end-to-end, get out of that business. Change, turn, repent, atone. Develop a working conscience.

The following should appear at the end of every post:

According to the IRS, "Know the law: Avoid political campaign intervention":

Tax-exempt section 501(c)(3) organizations like churches, universities, and hospitals must follow the law regarding political campaigns. Unfortunately, some don't know the law.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from participating in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. The prohibition applies to campaigns at the federal, state and local level.

Violation of this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. Section 501(c)(3) private foundations are subject to additional restrictions.

Political Campaign Intervention

Political campaign intervention includes any activities that favor or oppose one or more candidates for public office. The prohibition extends beyond candidate endorsements.

Contributions to political campaign funds, public statements of support or opposition (verbal or written) made by or on behalf of an organization, and the distribution of materials prepared by others that support or oppose any candidate for public office all violate the prohibition on political campaign intervention.

Factors in determining whether a communication results in political campaign intervention include the following:

Whether the statement identifies one or more candidates for a given public office

Whether the statement expresses approval or disapproval of one or more candidates' positions and/or actions

Whether the statement is delivered close in time to the election

Whether the statement makes reference to voting or an election

Whether the issue addressed distinguishes candidates for a given office

Many religious organizations believe, as we do, that the above constitutes a violation of the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

That said, we make the following absolutely clear here:

The Real Liberal Christian Church and Christian Commons Project not only do not endorse any candidate for any secular office, we say that Christianity forbids voting in such elections.

Furthermore, when we discuss any public-office holder's position, policy, action or inaction, we definitely are not encouraging anyone to vote for that office holder's position.

We are not trying to influence secular elections but rather want people to come out from that entire fallen system.

When we analyze or discuss what is termed "public policy," we do it entirely from a theological standpoint with an eye to educating professing Christians and those to whom we are openly always proselytizing to convert to authentic Christianity.

It is impossible for us to fully evangelize and proselytize without directly discussing the pros and cons of public policy and the positions of secular-office holders, hence the unconstitutionality of the IRS code on the matter.

We are not rich and wouldn't be looking for a fight regardless. What we cannot do is compromise our faith (which seeks to harm nobody, quite the contrary).

We render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. We render unto God what is God's.

When Caesar says to us that unless we shut up about the unrighteousness of Caesar's policies and practices, we will lose the ability of people who donate to us to declare their donations as deductions on their federal and state income-tax returns, we say to Caesar that we cannot shut up while exercising our religion in a very reasonable way.

We consider the IRS code on this matter as deliberate economic duress (a form of coercion) and a direct attempt by the federal government to censor dissenting, free political and religious speech.

It's not freedom of religion if they tax it.

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free. (Matthew 17:24-26)

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